Chapter 8
“Come on.” Shran said, smiling at her. “I want to show you something.” Curious, she followed him. He led her to the outskirts of the city and they stepped from a metal bridge to a tunnel. From his pocket Shran produced a small flashlight and switched it on. The bright light shone on the dark rock, reflecting off the minerals. “This way.” T’Pol hesitated and remained at the mouth. “Don’t be so anxious T’Pol. It’s just a little way in.” Shran gave her an imploring look. “I know you don’t completely trust me T’Pol, but do you really think I’d do something? For one thing I’d have that whole crew of yours out for my blood. Secondly, you're the mother of my child, never mind the technicalities, so that pretty much guarantees your safety.” He held his gloved hand up, “I just want to show you something. I think you’ll find it interesting.” She stared at him carefully for a moment and then stepped forward but she didn’t take his hand. He let it drop.
They walked slowly, the light from the flashlight showing the way, occasionally spooking an animal, although only one scuttled away, the others seemed unbothered. After taking a right and going straight for a few minutes they came to another cave, like the one where the Andorian city lay, but much smaller. T’Pol was aware of a strange squeaking sound. Shran lowered his flashlight and covered it with a red cloth, changing the colour and dimming the light.
“Lets avoid disturbing them any more than we have to.” he said softly as they ventured carefully into the cave. T’Pol noted that Soval was peeking over Shran’s shoulder from his back curiously.
“Disturb who?” Shran just gave her a small smirk.
“Them.” he pointed the flashlight to the ceiling. In the very dim light T’Pol could just about make out a flock of small bat-like creatures. The red light flashed off red fur, a rich, deep red. “Over here.” Shran said in a very soft voice. Padding over to a smallish ledge, Shran showed her a nursery of sorts. Tiny little versions of the creatures squeaked and scrambled around adult versions, plaintively calling for food.
“What are they?” she asked, watching them curiously and wondering why Shran had wanted her to see this.
“Redbats. Imaginative name, I know.” He watched the younglings pull at their parents, “You know what’s interesting about them aside from their colour?”
“What?”
“The way they raise their young. Most creatures, Andorians included, let the men deal with the children, while the women work, or guard territory or whatever. Redbats don’t do that.”
“Oh?” she raised an eyebrow curiously,
“Both parents take equal share in their young, they share the gathering of food and the teaching and the protecting. And they are quite nasty when their young is threatened.” T’Pol looked at him and then at the creatures. An odd way of getting a point across but one she found… pleasant. “My brother has advised me to take legal action in the matter.” Her eyes widened and he looked at her carefully. “But I’m not doing it to take Soval away from you.”
“How do you-?”
“T’Pol, please don’t treat me like an idiot. I’m not one. I know that’s been bothering you, I can see it in your face, in the way you keep changing from ‘my’ to ‘our’ and back. You want what’s best for Soval but you also can’t ignore the desire to make sure your claim to him is well known.” His gaze was completely serious, not a hint of arrogance or a smirk on it in the very dim light. He jerked his head back the way they had come and they left the redbats to their feeding. “I want to be as much involved as I can in his life and I will do whatever it takes to protect him. Look T’Pol…” he stopped in the tunnel and looked at her evenly, “I want to be as involved as I can… but I’m not going to do it so that you end up cut off. That’s purely because I would never willing take a child from a parent. It would do neither any good. I want to make sure you understand that. I don’t know what the law is about this or if there even is one, it’s not like this has ever happened before, but I’d rather we figure out something with as little mess as possible.”
“That seems… reasonable.” T’Pol could not keep some of the surprise out of her voice. Shran smirked,
“I can be from time to time.”
“From time to time.” she agreed blandly, watching the smirk widen on his face. “There is something I need to give you, but perhaps we could go back into the city.”
“Sure.” They walked out and began to wander back into the city. People stared at them curiously and some said hello to Shran but otherwise they were left alone. “Well what is it?” he prompted her when many minutes went by and she said nothing. She thinned her lips and then from her coat that she’d worn to stay warm she produced a PADD. She gave it to Shran and he looked at her questioningly.
“This is a file entitled ‘Hope’. It contains letters and pictures that your counterpart and mine wished for Soval to see when he was old enough. I thought it would be best if we both had a copy. The letter that he wrote for me, asking me to take Soval is also there.”
“I see.” Shran nodded, but his antennas had fallen a little.
“Why does this make you uncomfortable?”
“It’s just… doesn’t it bother you at all?”
“I don’t see why it would.”
“It’s just, they were us and they’re dead… and they were slaves and the humans were their masters and… I don’t know it all just seems… like a nightmare.”
“And in that nightmare there was still hope. They tried their hardest to change their lives. They tried to better their lives, to better their son’s life. They would not have done so if they did not hope. They would not have created this child we now have to care for if they didn’t.”
“Well maybe but… I just find it all disturbing, and hard to wrap my head around.”
“I’m sure you just need time. I have noticed that you are fairly adaptable.” Shran snorted,
“I don’t know about that. But… thanks.”
“You are welcome.” Shran drew in a deep breath and then let it out.
“So what now?”
“Perhaps, if you wish, we could read over the letters together. I’m sure that our counterparts had plans for Soval. We should find out what they were.”
“Alright. Come on. We can do that at my house. Unless… unless you’d rather go to a… humans would call it a restaurant I think. I know a good place, its quiet.” She considered the two options and decided her choice.
“I would rather we be able to discuss this privately, so it would be best to go to your house.”
“Fair enough. Soval certainly won’t be bored if we go there.” Shran agreed, before nodding his head in the direction back to his house. When they entered it it was silent. “Sen and Lis are at work, so we shouldn’t be bothered. Here, you take Soval for a minute.” He turned his back to her and she gently pulled Soval away and held him in her arms. Shran wandered into the playroom and then returned with a mat and bar with dangling toys. He spread the silk out on the floor in the centre of the floor space between the couches and then put the toy down. “You can put him down, this thing never fails to keep my cousins and my nieces and nephews entertained at this age.” T’Pol perked an eyebrow up curiously and she lay Soval down so his arms could reach the toys easily. At once he reached out and batted at one of them, making it sway and let out a tinkling noise. Soval laughed with delight and hit it again. “Whether or not it will drive you insane is quite another thing.” Shran shrugged and sat down on the couch. After some hesitation T’Pol sat down beside him, although she kept a significant amount of distance between them. If Shran noticed this and way annoyed, he hid it well. He twirled the PADD in his fingers a few times before finally switching it on. “Have you read these?”
“No.”
“Can you read them from here?”
“Not really.”
“Then maybe you should sit a little closer.” he spoke awkwardly, and his fingers tapped the edge of the PADD. She thinned her lips and then slid closer to him, just enough to be able to read the PADD. He shifted slightly so that they both could read it and she was extremely aware of how close his face was to hers. His antennas were extended forward slightly, in what she knew now was calmness, but they were extremely close to her hair. She tried not to let it bother her. His eyes were fixed on the PADD and he opened the first letter. He glanced at Soval and his face softened for a moment, then it tightened again as he looked back at the PADD. T’Pol also began to read the letter.
My Child,
Well, no matter how sceptical your mother may be, I know you’re there. Granted only two days have passed since we tried, but I know you're alive. You’ll probably know what I mean when you have your own children. Now isn’t that just silly. You’re only just conceived and I’m already talking about you having children of your own. I’m always thinking ahead of myself. Maybe that’s a good thing, if I didn’t think ahead then I wouldn’t be writing this letter for you to read.
It’s debateable why I’m writing this letter. Do I expect to die soon and so never get to tell you all these things? Do I just want to remember all the things I want to tell you in as much detail as I can? Or do I find comfort in talking to you even though you aren’t self aware? To be honest, I’d say it’s a combination of all of the above, and other feelings as well.
A good question would be, what am I going to tell you? Well, I want to tell you everything I know, everything I can about me, your mother, my beloved wife T’Pol and our friends, and our lives. I want to give you a chance to know us, if it ends up being that we cannot be there with you ourselves.
So let’s start from your own beginnings, not mine or your mother’s. That means, I’m going to tell you about the first time I met your mother. I’m not sure why I want to start there, but it seems appropriate.
I was onboard the I.S.S Avenger, my post since I was eighteen, in engineering. The ship had just docked with an orbital station over Vulcan. Soval, my best friend and mentor came to me as I finished up my work.
“Thy’lek?”
“Over here Soval!” Thy'lek called, nestled in one of the Jeffries tubes, monitoring the flow of plasma through a conduit. Soval walked over and crouched down to see his friend. “What is it?”
“I was wondering if you’d accompany me to the station. There is someone I’d like you to meet.”
“Oh?” Thy'lek looked at him questioningly, his antennas perked curiously.
“Yes. She’s an old associate of mine. I believe you will find her agreeable.”
“Vulcan?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’m sure I will.” he chuckled, pulling himself out of the Jeffries tube and standing up straight. He heard something in his back pop and stretched luxuriously. “Lets go. That is… we are able to go right?”
“Yes, Captain Black has given permission for all personnel to board the station for three hours, then we need to return.”
“Sounds like fun. What are we waiting for?”
“Indeed.” They walked through the docking port and onto the station. It was bustling with people, all dressed in Terran Starfleet uniforms. The two men made their way to a mess and Soval spotted his acquaintance. She was sitting at a table, her fingers delicately curled around a mug that was softly steaming. She had golden brown hair that reached her shoulders and she had the defining ears and eyebrows of a Vulcan. Thy'lek followed Soval and they both stopped before the woman.
“Greetings T’Pol. It is agreeable to see you again.” said Soval as he sat down, motioning for Thy'lek to do the same. “This is Lieutenant Shran he’s an associate from the Avenger.”
“It is agreeable to meet you Shran.” she said blandly, nodding her head to him. He smiled slightly and nodded back,
“It’s nice to meet you, T’Pol?”
“Yes. Soval has spoken of you in our communications.”
“All good I hope.” Thy'lek smiled, it turned wry when he looked at Soval whose eyebrow twitched.
“He has said you are a competent and intelligent man.” Thy'lek felt his cheeks flush at the praise, honoured that his friend and mentor would say such of him.
“Thank you.” he said bashfully, turning his head to the woman, “I’m afraid I’ve not heard of you before.” T’Pol did not seem bothered by this, and he was fairly confident that he could read Vulcan’s behaviour well by now.
“T’Pol and I both served together on the I.S.S Caesar for several years about a decade ago. We became associates during that time.” Soval explained.
“You mean you became friends.” Thy'lek clarified, amused at the Vulcan way of speaking about friendship.
“Vulcans do not have friends.” said T’Pol, cocking one eyebrow at him. Thy'lek smiled and then turned his attention to Soval again,
“Then what are we Soval? I call you my friend, do you throw it back in my face.” Soval drew in a deep breath and said
“In this universe Vulcans do a lot of things they aren’t supposed to. You are my friend Thy'lek.” Thy'lek grinned in triumph. T’Pol watched them with a slightly puzzled look. Then she spoke,
“Have you ever heard of the Alternate Universe theory?”
“Yes.” he nodded, a little uncertain where she was going with this and where it had come from.
“Do you ever wonder if there is a universe where things are different? Where perhaps… we are all equal.”
“Keep your voice down T’Pol.” Soval said sharply, and Thy'lek ducked his head reflexively. T’Pol flattened her lips and said nothing more. Thy'lek finally lifted his head and he looked around, trying to seem just curious about the mess, then he said softly.
“Do you think that’s possible?”
“It is entirely possible.” she said, with equal softness. Their heads were close together and Soval leaned in as well, either unwillingly intrigued or attempting to reduce suspicion.
“What made you bring it up?” Thy'lek asked, unable to miss that this woman was extremely beautiful, even from a purely observant point of view, and how close he was to her.
“Soval’s words. ‘In this universe.’ Perhaps there is a universe where Vulcans and Andorians are free.”
“You shouldn’t speak of these matters here.” Soval said, just as a Terran solider stalked past. He must have heard Soval because he slowed and looked at them suspiciously. Thy'lek mentally panicked and then he reached out and touched T’Pol’s hand with his fingers, wrapping them into her palm. He acted like he hadn’t noticed the Terran and said, acting slightly bashful,
“I’m sorry Soval, I know Vulcans don’t approve of public displays of affection but you know how my species can be, and I’m completely enamoured with T’Pol I cannot help myself.” He kept his voice low but not so low the Terran couldn’t hear it, and he caressed the back of T’Pol’s soft hand with his rough thumb. Thankfully T’Pol seemed to understand, maybe she picked it up from him through their slight telepathic connection via their touching skin, or she was aware of the Terran and smart enough to play along, but she used her other hand to stroke his exposed wrist (he had a habit of rolling his uniform sleeves up when he was working and had forgotten to lower them when they came aboard) with her first two fingers and she looked at him fixedly.
“We apologise if it makes you uncomfortable.” she said to Soval, but she stared at Thy'lek in what he guessed was an attempt to gaze dreamily. Thy'lek tried to appear smitten, which was not easy considering he had no idea what that felt like, but he gave her a small, slightly shy smile. The Terran seemed sated and he walked away. Once he was gone Thy'lek let go of T’Pol’s hand and flushed,
“Sorry.” he said, “I panicked.” She drew in a small breath of what may have been relief,
“It is all right. That was quick thinking. And you are not overly intense in your emotions.”
“Uh… thank you?”
“You are welcome.” He could have sworn that he saw a twinkle in her eyes as she said this. Was she teasing him? He felt himself smile. He could like this woman.
Now when I think back to that day I wonder if it was all coincidence, or if there is such a thing called fate… or if Soval had an ulterior motive in introducing me to her. He may not have seemed it to many, but I knew him well and I know better than to dismiss the idea, as he could be quite sneaky when he wanted to be, for a Vulcan especially. Then again, my wife is almost as sneaky herself. Maybe it comes with that wicked sarcastic streak they have. Anyway, we spoke with each other for the time allotted and then Soval and I bid her goodbye. It was several years before I saw her again. But that is a tale for another time.
For now I’m afraid I must end this letter and go do some work, Telev has had a few ideas about tactics and he wants to run them by me. I’d better go before he gets too impatient.
Love always
Papa
Shran lowered the PADD and shifted where he sat slightly looking at the PADD then at her awkwardly. She would not deny that she too felt awkward. It seemed that the other Shran would go into details of his and his wife’s romance with each other among other things. The very idea of reading it beside Shran made her feel decidedly uncomfortable and he clearly felt the same way. She could not deny that it was touching how devoted the other Shran had been to his wife and how he was unashamed to display it, but it wasn’t easy to read. Shran cleared his throat and he set down the PADD on the couch and he stood up.
“Do you want a drink.” he offered.
“Please.”
“Penainan?”
“Yes, thank you.” He walked into the kitchen and she watched Soval curiously as the baby kicked one of the dangling toys and then became immersed with… clutching his own foot? If she didn’t know better she’d swear that he was trying to put his toes in his mouth, a completely unappealing thing in her opinion. Shran returned with the drinks and he looked at Soval and chuckled,
“Not quite there son.” he said crouching down beside the baby, “Give it another few tries and you’ll be chewing on your toes in no time.”
“You wish for him to do such a thing?” T’Pol asked, unable to mask some of her disgust. Shran looked at her over his shoulder and he grinned,
“T’Pol, every single baby in the universe, at once point or another has put their foot in their mouth. It’s just something they do, along with kicking and grabbing everything in their reach. It’s part of them exploring and learning.”
“I fail to see how sucking on ones toes is in any way educational.” She said, even as she slipped off the couch and crouched beside Shran to watch Soval. Shran laughed and his antennas squirmed in amusement.
“T’Pol, it’s about learning about your own body and learning to control it. It’s no different than him being fascinated by his ability to clap or grip. Soon he’ll be discovering his nose and he’ll be mesmerised by it, if my nephew Erib is any indication.”
“His nose is there on his face.” She said, suddenly feeling like she knew nothing about children. “It always has been.”
“Yes, but come on T’Pol. A baby barely knows which end a bottle goes in him, all he cares about is feeling full. But once he becomes more self aware he has to start learning somewhere and his own body is the best place to start. Soon enough he’ll be tugging on his antennas when he finds them, just trying to figure out what they do in relation to him.”
“How do you know so much about children?” she asked, sounding almost accusing. Shran smirked,
“I’m male for a start, we’re expected to know these things, besides, even when I was a child and being the baby of my family there was always someone I knew who’d had a baby, if it wasn’t Old Man, it was a cousin, or an aunt or uncles or third cousin, whoever. I grew up around babies, and I’m the favourite minder for them now when I’m planet-side. Don’t ask me why, because I don’t know, but I love doing it so I do it all the time. You pick all this up over time.” T’Pol pursed her lips and watched as Soval rolled over and lifted his head looking around. Shran beamed, “Good boy! Very good!” he crowed, scooping the baby into his arms and holding him against his chest.
Soval giggled and kicked his legs out. He fisted his little hand into Shran’s shirt and then threw his other hand out to T’Pol. She slipped her finger into his hand and he pulled it to him, making her shuffled closer. Then Soval let go of her finger and grabbed her shirt, pulling her even closer. For a tiny creature he was surprisingly strong. She then realised her face was inches away from Shran’s. His brown eyes widened as they met hers and he seemed embarrassed. Soval laughed and tightened his grip, seemingly trying to pull the three of them together. Shran’s face was even closer and she couldn’t pull back because of Soval’s hold. Shran seemed to flush slightly even as he reached out and tried to unlock Soval’s fingers from her shirt. She also attempted to release herself, but they had little success. Shran sighed and shook his head, “Look little one, I know what you're after and it isn’t happening, so it’s time to let go.” he said firmly.
“What does he want?” She asked, still displeased with their proximity to each other.
“He wants us to kiss, that’s what he wants!” Shran exclaimed as Soval let out an impatient noise. T’Pol’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline.
“I beg your pardon?”
“It’s a trick children try when they feel like their parents aren’t… demonstrating their feelings for each other. The idea is to keep them close to each other until the child feels adequate demonstrating has occurred.” Shran explained, seeming a little flustered. Soval jerked his arm that was attached to T’Pol and she, being off balance due to leaning as far back as she could, fell forward and crashed into Shran, knocking him over and they both landed on the ground, T’Pol on top of Shran, Soval nestled between them, although he didn’t seem to mind, in fact he let out a laugh of self satisfaction. Thankfully she wasn’t pressing down on him, having been able to catch herself on her forearms. Still as she got her bearings she realised she was nose to nose with Shran.
The Andorian’s antennas were at attention, an indication of surprise, and his eyes were fairly wide, and she could have sworn a strange darkness passed through them briefly before he said softly, “I think he’s let go now.” She realised Soval had indeed let go and she quickly pushed herself to her feet. She was fairly sure her cheeks were flushed with green before she quickly stamped down on the embarrassment. Shran sat up, wrapped an arm around Soval and lay him down on the mat again. It was then she noticed that the baby was covered in a red sticky substance. She’d split her drink all over Shran and Soval when she fell. Shran pulled at his silk shirt and then looked at Soval who was sticking his tongue out and licking around his mouth. It was incredible the length the tongue was reaching. Then he started sucking on his fist. “I guess he likes Penainan a lot.” Shran muttered glancing down at his shirt again.
“I apologise, I should have been more careful.”
“Forget it. This shirt isn’t the best anyway, the weaving’s not great. I can wash it. Speaking of washing, he’ll need a bath. I’ve got some clothes that’ll fit him after and I can throw what he’s wearing in the wash with my shirt. Just let me clean myself up, and then we can wash him up.”
“I can do it.” T’Pol offered. Shran shook his head,
“You don’t know your way around an Andorian facility T’Pol, I’ll only be a minute and then we can bathe him together.”
“Very well.” she agreed, nodding.
“Why don’t you get him out of those clothes while I change.” She nodded and set about accomplishing that task. Soval didn’t seem to approve of her attempts to undress him, and although she managed to get the dirty clothes off, he had a pout on his little lips, like she was being unkind to him. She couldn’t help but feel a little jealous at how easy Shran made his interactions with Soval seem, when she had difficulty doing the smallest of tasks. She decided that she would do more research and learn quickly about how to care for her son. Shran came back, in a plain, white shirt and said, “Bath’s all ready. Let’s clean him up before he sticks to the floor.” She nodded and scooped the baby up, nestling him in her arms. Soval didn’t seem to mind this at all, he snuggled into her arms and seemed content to sleep. Unfortunately he was not so lucky.
T’Pol looked around the bathroom and noted the various facilities that were more or less the same as Vulcan ones, which were more or less like Human ones. A humanoid bathroom was a humanoid bathroom anywhere in the galaxy it seemed. Shran had retrieved a smaller bath, set it in the bigger, main one and filled the little one with water.
“Why don’t you check the temperature, see if it’s all right to you. Soval has a lower body temperature than me, so I don’t know what he’ll think of the temperature.”
“It seems a little cool.” she said, dipping her fingers into it. Shran shook his head,
“Test it with your elbow, it’s more sensitive to hot and cold, or is it somewhere else for Vulcans?” She shook her head, passed Soval to him and rolled up her sleeves, as she noticed he already had. Testing the water with her elbow like he instructed she found that the temperature was pleasantly warm.
“That seems appropriate.” Shran nodded,
“Good, here, you put Soval into the water and I’ll just get him a towel for after.”
“Do you have appropriate soaps?”
“We can use my brother’s he won’t mind. It shouldn’t have any effect on his skin, Sen’s a little sensitive himself, so it should be fine.” Shran passed her Soval and walked out of the bathroom. T’Pol knelt down on the towel already laid at the edge of the bath. She cradled Soval in her arms and then carefully lowered him into the water, submerging her arms as she did. The top of her rolled sleeves were also soaked but she paid it no mind as Soval’s eyes widened in surprise and then he smiled, kicking out in the water and splashing her in the face. She slipped her arm out from under his bottom but maintained her grip around his back, as she was fairly sure he was not old enough to be left on his own in the bath. Shran returned and knelt beside her. “See,” he said, “You know more than you think, that’s exactly how you hold him. Do you want me to wash his hair, while you hold him?”
“Very well.” she nodded. Shran dipped his hand into the water and cupped some water into it and gently poured the water over Soval’s shoulders and he rubbed it lightly around the aquamarine neck and then, using one hand to protect Soval’s eyes he poured water over his hair, darkening it from sandy to dark brown. As Shran did this T’Pol watched him curiously.
She’d never, even if she’d had to the end of time, believed that she could be in a situation with Commander Shran where they would be caring for a child that was biologically theirs, much less that they’d be kneeling side by side and giving said child a bath. Or that Shran would be so gentle and careful. Even as he worked lather into Soval’s hair, he did it gently and slowly and Soval clearly approved because he cooed in contentment.
T’Pol watched with interest as Shran carefully lathered the hair around the baby’s antennas, then he playfully tickled the base of one making Soval squeal and laugh. She briefly wondered if Shran would giggle if someone did that to him and then she realised how illogical and inappropriate a question that was and banished it from her mind.
“Here, would you cover his eyes, make sure none of the soap gets in his eyes? It stings like hell if it gets in there and he’ll scream his head off.”
“Of course. Like this?”
“Yeah, that’s it.” He carefully washed away the suds and ran his fingers through the hair to ensure it was completely clear. “Now, I’ll hold him and you can wash his body if you want.”
“Alright.” He pointed the right bottle out and then supported Soval with his hands and T’Pol took the bottle and squeezed some of the contents out. It smelled faintly herbal, reminding her of lavender and vanilla and was thick, almost like a cream. “Do I rub it into his skin?”
“Yes, nice and gently.” She spread it out on her fingers and then took one arm and gently massaged it into the soft skin, and then she did the other. Then she did his chest and tummy and back, then finally she did his legs and feet. “Don’t forget between his toes.” She did so, carefully rubbing between the digits. Soval giggled and thrashed in the water, causing a great splash, getting the both of them wet. Shran laughed and kissed the top of his wet little head, T’Pol had to admit it was not as irritating as she’d have expected to be splashed.
When she was done she then carefully washed the stuff off his skin. Soval’s skin gleamed in the light he was now so clean. “Alright will we get him out?” T’Pol nodded and retrieved the towel, she sat on the edge of the bath and spread it over her lap. Shran waited until she was ready, then he carefully lifted the slippery child out of the bath and lay him in his mother’s lap. T’Pol wrapped the towel securely around the small form and began to pat the skin dry. Shran, pulled at the corner of the towel at Soval’s head to reveal a small hood, just the right size for Soval’s head. The towel was pure white, like snow and Soval’s skin was bright and bold against it. His little face peeked out from the folds and he smiled at them.
“It would appear he enjoys being… fussed over.” she commented,
“Most babies do.” Shran said softly, his hand cupping Soval’s head and his thumb rubbing his brow lightly through the hood. He smiled softly at the baby, and she watched, as it seemed his face lit up in a serene expression, like he was at peace as he gazed at the child. She thought about what she’d said to Trip, and realised that she could not go through with such a cold plan. She didn’t know what they would do, but she knew they’d sort out some kind of arrangement. Shran leaned forward and kissed the tip of Soval’s nose, Soval squirmed a hand free and touched his father’s face. Shran held it there gently, beaming proudly. They’d work something out.